Gettleman denied the initial NFL Network report, via David Newton of ESPN.com, who said the G.M. was “adamant” it was not the case.

If he’s to be taken at his word, and there’s no reason to believe he’s lying, the Panthers are simply making a mistake.

Whether Ron Rivera should be fired or not (and the denial came prior to a disastrous 22-6 loss to the Cardinals, which dropped him to 14-22, with at least a 1-3 start in each of his three seasons) is beside the point.

Every G.M. (or some other high-ranking official, for the sake of plausible deniability) should always have a list of potential candidates tucked away in a desk drawer or at least the back of his mind.

Because whether it’s because of a horrible record or a mutiny in the locker room or a bear attack, things can change at any time.

And by hiring a G.M. who never met his coach before he took the job, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson set the stage for this appearance of inevitability of change.

So while it’s not the kind of thing that’s polite to acknowledge, especially in a town with the “bless his heart” sensibilities of Charlotte, it’s also real.

If Gettleman’s not preparing for what’s after Rivera, then somebody else in his organization better be, so he’s ready if the time for change comes. Which it always does.

Clean house in Carolina after this disastrous season and let go of Rivera and Newton, and then encourage Richardson to sell the team and then retire or go back to flipping burgers and chopping cabbage for cole slaw with BBQ. He’s a lot better with fast foods than he is with owning a football team.

Bill Belichick says:Oct 7, 2013 10:54 AM

All GMs have lists of coaching candidates, as well as lists of free agents. If you are a coach or executive for a pro football team, you always have a plan B, C, D, E for everything. Denying that he has been conducting such a search is ridiculous, he should be conducting those searches, regardless of whther he is planning on being in the market for a new coach. He should always have a plan for his next Defensive coordinator, his next Offensive coordinator, he next Special Teams coach, O/D Lineman coach, etc etc etc. Not because he plans on firing his coaches, but because he needs to have a coach in mind if one of his coaches gets promoted (within or hired by another team). The denial makes it seem worse

GM’s play word games for PR purposes, if you didn’t already know this. The denial was that he had begun background checks…this is very different from having a list of potential candidates. Rivera and his staff will be gone but more than likely he will survive until the end of they year.

Wonder if Michael Bidwell knows enough to have that little list tucked away because it appears his GM is not any better at picking talent that the others before him and the HC is not proving to be “the guy” either despite the ugly wins against Tampa and the Panthers…defense could have done that without a coach!

so I had the privilege of meeting nfloracle. I can now honestly claim that he is the biggest loser, (literally really fat), and he kept on using the “N” word when referring to Newton… so take it for what its worth, but he is a fat, racist, loser.

It’s surprising Rivera wasn’t fired today. That game yesterday was just terrible. Blame it on Cam, the offensive line, the drop passes and even the play calling… If it weren’t for the defense, they would’ve lost 6-100.

I’m sure Gettleman is looking. But he’s right to deny it. That’d be real unprofessional to claim that he has a list in his pocket right now.

borisbulldog says:Oct 7, 2013 11:11 AM

Did the Panthers enlarge the restroom doors at their facility so Richardson can drive his lil rascal thru?

After 25 years of working in NFL front offices, why did it take Gettleman so long to get hired as a GM?

As GMs get younger, the Panthers get a career guy, who was probably pushed out of the Giants organization. The Giants GM, Reese did not speak very highly of him. Maybe he was about to be let go anyway. After all Gettleman was passed over when they promoted Reese.

Anyway, this move could hurt the Panthers’ long-term and Cam Newton may decide to take his talent to …

borisbulldog says:Oct 7, 2013 11:16 AM

Funny how the Panther players were throwing Chudzinski under the bus saying he held them back last year but it looks like the same offense in CLE has them tied for 1st!

With their track record which typifies their values and thought processes, I present to you the perfect head coach of their future: Lane Kiffin!!!

thesmedman says:Oct 7, 2013 11:22 AM

Gibbs 3.0

Cowher 2.0

Russ Grimm

Ken Whisenhunt

Pickins might be slim this year…

firstvictory says:Oct 7, 2013 11:25 AM

pilot2011 says:
Oct 7, 2013 11:05 AM
so I had the privilege of meeting nfloracle. I can now honestly claim that he is the biggest loser, (literally really fat), and he kept on using the “N” word when referring to Newton… so take it for what its worth, but he is a fat, racist, loser.

you’re lucky I don’t say your actual name on this website.

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nfloracle says:
Oct 7, 2013 11:16 AM
pilot2011, I could care less about Newton’s color. I care about winning, and Cam is not a winner. He’s an immature guy who has more excuses than Walmart has Associates.

It’s sad how guys like you have to try to inject race into comments about football and winning and losing.

And, for the record, I am a svelte 240 pounds on a manly 6’7″ frame of twisted sinew and rock hard muscle.

Anyone who thinks that a Shula will bring a team back to relevance is in total denial….Daddy was the only guy that was good… As soon as I new Mike Shula would be the OC I said to myself…Cam will be asking for a trade… Dude doesnt have any weapons…and the coach should have never been given a HC job….on top of that had they hired Hue Jackson their offense would have been much better…Too bad he is set to be Cincy’s OC in 2014….

that loss yesterday wasn’t on shula. he called a great game. guys dropped passes in the endzone. on 4th and 1. cam threw some stupid interceptions. basically it was the offensive players turn to choke away a game. next week we’ll see who hands the vikings the W. i’m predicting the defense gets shredded by AP

“If he’s to be taken at his word, and there’s no reason to believe he’s lying,”…….

huh? He is a multi millionaire and his lips are moving…..that’s not a reason?

teek77 says:Oct 7, 2013 1:59 PM

I don’t know who is responsible for trying to make Newton a pocket passer, but whether it is Shula, Rivera, or both. Whoever it is needs to go. When you put him in the pocket, you take away the theat of him taking off downfield. It is tougher for him to get out of the pocket from behind those big slow linemen who are collapsing around him! Sure, you want to protect him from getting hurt while running the ball but how many other teams’ offense revolve around trying to protect their best runners………Peterson at Minnesota, Lynch at Seattle, Forte at Chicago? Two other teams trying to protect their QBs by changing their natural style of play are Washington and San Francisco. Both teams have gone downhill offensively. Turn Cam loose to play naturally and let him be responsible for staying healthy.

thepftpaperchase says:Oct 7, 2013 3:54 PM

norsedrew says: Oct 7, 2013 1:47 PM

“If he’s to be taken at his word, and there’s no reason to believe he’s lying,”…….

huh? He is a multi millionaire and his lips are moving…..that’s not a reason?
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I would expect Gettleman to say what he did. If you admit you are setting up the first steps of your coaching search, the current coach loses the team and a team that should be at least a .500 team becomes a 1- or 2-win team. You have to support your people while they are still your people. But everyone around here knows that Rivera is toast.